She Knew Him (Revised)
by Jennifer Scott
Summary: For César, only seven months passed since he left the girl of his dreams in order to protect her from the Consortium. For Kyara, it has been seven years. She's moved on, even has a son, Rohan. What happens when the two meet up after all those years? And what does Van Kleiss want with Rohan? Chapter 7: A Talk About Love - It is what is sounds like. Rating changed to T.
1. Prologue: First Meeting

**Author's Note: So I was going back to my first fanfic and realized how awful it was. I couldn't put anything down which I meant to. Thus, this little rewrite. I hope you all enjoy it and it makes a little more linear sense. **

* * *

It was the end of one of the first days of Abysus University for Kyara. The rough bark of an ancient oak tree sat against her back providing support for her tired body. Her eyelids fluttered, struggling to stay open as they skimmed the history book she had to read by the end of the week. The summer air was blistering hot despite the sun already falling beneath the horizon. She repositioned herself, trying to remain comfortable. She had grown up on the coast of northern California where they were lucky to reach 70 degrees in the middle of summer instead of this stifling 100+ degrees of an Abysus September.

She glanced at her watch. It was well past eight now. Gazing around, she tried to figure out if her roommate, Carrie, would be back from her last evening class by now. Kyara had forgotten hers, forcing her to wait outside. She sighed, wondering what she would do for the next fifteen minute while waiting when something, or rather, someone, caught her eye.

A man was walking down one of the pathways with anger and frustration in his steps. His skin was naturally tanned, something Kyara would always be jealous of as she was a ginger and could never even come close to his skin. His hair was as black as night and brushed back as if he had rubbed his hands through it too many times. His eyes were dark with rage, almost frightening Kyara. As he neared her, he ripped off his labcoat showing his green shirt and tan vest. He threw his coat into the bushes, cursing quietly under his breath. He was oblivious to Kyara.

Slowly, unsure if she would regret what she was about to do, she stood up. She came up right behind him where he was still fuming at the bush covered with his labcoat. She stood on her tiptoes and said, "Bad day?"

The man jumped, startled by her sudden announcement. He spun around, accidently hitting her in the face. She shrieked with surprise.

"Lo siento, I'm sorry," he said, unsure of how to make sure she was okay. Kyara touched her sore cheek, deciding it was nothing too serious. She smiled at the man.

"I'm fine. Sorry for startling you. I just meant to see if you were alright. You seemed pretty angry at that bush," she joked, trying to ease the awkwardness.

The man threw a glance at the bush where his labcoat still was, seeming to realize how it looked from an outside angle. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "About how long was I shouting at the bush?"

Kyara shrugged. You weren't really shouting, but you were cursing as badly as a sailor. It actually was a great distraction from my history homework."

"Homework? You're a student?"

"Aren't you?" The man looked at if was in his early twenties at the oldest.

"I just turned 23," he stated plainly as if it was plainly obvious how old he was. The girl laughed.

"Happy belated birthday, then. I'll be 18 next October."

The man nodded and looked around, uncertain as to how to continue the conversation. He tried to make eye contact once or twice, but found it nearly impossible. The girl smiled, doubtful if she should continue or not. She tried to look at the man, but found it nearly impossible to do. Her heart was fluttering in the most profound way and her cheeks blushed a bright rosy red. She was thankful for the evening light which hopefully hid that fact. She eventually reached over and grabbed his coat from the bush. She handed it to him.

"Unless you quit, I think you'll probably be needing this."

"Thank you," the man said quietly, his voice wavering.

The girl nodded then began to walk away. She sighed, wishing that the encounter had gone better. She counted her steps, slowly making her way to her dormitory, chiding herself for not saying anything else. She counted her breaths, her heartbeats, trying to think of an excuse to talk to him.

The man took a step after her, wanting to talk to her longer, but unable to find the right words to say. The girl was a mystery to him. There was something alluring about her short red hair and her warm brown eyes. Even the way she walked away, slow and certain, made something turn inside of Cesar. He was unable to describe the effect she had on his mind. But as he slowly turned away, he knew he would find a way to talk to her again. He would-

Her name. He didn't even know her name. He turned back around. "Wait."

The girl spun around. Her face was cocked, attentive to him. She slowly came back up to him and gazed into his eyes. He took a deep breath. He had never looked at a girl this way before. He had never even met a girl who was close to his own age. Five years was an age difference, he supposed, but subtleties like that had never bothered him. Besides, he thought, I only want to know her name.

"I didn't get your name," he stammered out.

"I'm Kyara."

"Kyara." The named rolled off his tongue sweetly. "I'm César."

"César. Nice to meet you."

She walked away, into the nearest dorm building. Cesar watched her go, repeating her name quietly to himself. "Kyara. Kyara." It was a pretty name. A pretty name for a pretty girl, he thought to himself. He hoped to find her again. If only to say her name one more time. He smiled slightly and made his way back to his lab.

* * *

****Review! Follow! Favorite!****


	2. Chapter 1: Need

The stagnant air was sweltering on the small island that Kyara had learned to call home. The dry air scratched against her throat as she hesitantly reached for some water nearby. She coughed, trying to keep the sand from the beach outside. She gazed at the waves, watching a small little boy about four years old playing in the water. His skin was dark tan from spending all of his days in the sun, and his hair was dark like his father's. His eyes were a warm brown like his mother's that smiled at everything.

"Rohan! Ten more minutes! We need to go to school!"

It was her daily ritual since she had had taken up being the elementary teacher on the island over six years ago. There were maybe twenty kids in her class, all ranging from four like Rohan to ten or eleven. She taught them everything she could before sending them off to the high school teacher. It was a lot to undertake in a single year, but she was never disappointed. Her students always worked hard to achieve her goals.

"Do we have to? Can't we just have free day?" he asked pouting as he came up the shore from the water. Kyara smiled, trying not to appear too harsh to her son.

"Yes, we have to. Come on, school is important. You'll love it today."

"You say that every day..." Rohan sighed, toweling off. He looked up at the bright blue sky without a cloud in sight. He frowned. "Ky, will it ever rain again?"

Kyara glanced up at the sky. She frowned as well. Part of her wanted to tell Rohan that it would soon and everything would be okay. Part of her wanted to tell him that she was as clueless as everyone else on the island. The truth was that the island was experiencing one of the longest droughts in their entire history. Kyara was clueless as to when the rains would come. She glanced back at Rohan who was looking expectantly of her. She smiled.

"Of course it will. It can't just stop raining anymore than you can stop growing." She poked his stomach making him giggle. "Race you the sidewalk."

He took off running towards the street. She kept up with him, careful not to overtake him and earn his wrath, but enough to where Rohan would feel as if he earned it. She laughed with him as the two made their way up the beach, across the scolding hot sand, to the sidewalk. Rohan jumped in the air, shouting, "I beat you! I always beat you!"

Kyara scooped him up into a tight embrace and rubbed his hair affectionately. "Watch your mouth, Rohan. I am allowed to ground you now."

Rohan squeezed out of her arms and landed on the sidewalk. He stared at Kyara with narrowed eyes of disbelief. "You wouldn't..."

Kyara picked him back up and swung him around onto her back. "Wanna bet?" she laughed. Rohan, deciding she was joking, laughed with her. The two walked the mile it took to reach the house they shared enjoying the laughter and company of one another. Upon reaching the door, Kyara dropped Rohan, telling him to gather his things. Rohan nodded and ran inside.

Kyara walked into the house that had been given to her as the teacher of the island. The schoolhouse was only across the street for ease of access. It was spacious enough. There was a small kitchen with a small entertaining space, though most of any time spent with guests was outside. It was originally one bedroom and a small full bathroom, but when Rohan came, she had a few of the villagers help her build another room for him. He didn't like it at first, preferring to spend many of his nights sleeping with her to keep away his nightmares, but within the last couple of months, he had grown used to sleeping apart from her, a sad but much relieved moment in her life. She walked into her own room, barely big enough for her bed and a dresser. She felt under her pillows, looking for her good luck charm.

It was gone.

Kyara began to panic, lifting up the pillow itself. Her good luck was definitely gone. She searched under her bed, tore the covers off though she admittedly rarely used them. She searched through her drawers and anywhere else in her room she could think it might have disappeared to. But it was nowhere to be found.

"Ky, who's this?" Rohan came into the room holding up a picture meant to fit into someone's wallet of a man with dark skin, black hair, and warm brown eyes. As usual, he was wearing his favorite green shirt and khaki vest. He was holding a younger version of Kyara in her jeans and blue shirt. Around her neck was a crystal sphere on a silver chain with two dolphins circling on the outside. It was the same necklace that she wore every single day.

Kyara choked, seeing Rohan point to the man she had tried so hard to forget for over six years. Her mouth was open, but now words came out. She could no longer find her voice. Instead, she collapsed onto her bed and stared at the picture. She had meant to throw it away long ago, but it had somehow served as a reminder why she could never get close to anyone else ever again. Except for little Rohan.

"Kyara, who is this man with you?" Rohan insisted.

"He... he was... his name was César. I used to know him long ago."

"Was he before you met my father?"

Kyara smiled weakly. "Yes, he was before I met your father."

"Was he important to you?" Rohan's little face scrunched with what she could only guess as jealousy.

"Not anymore."

Rohan nodded with acceptance and perhaps a little smugness before gently handing the picture back to Kyara. She smiled and held it in her hands, inspecting the picture. It was so long ago for her, yet it still brought up painful memories. She sighed. She missed how happy she was back then. She had never come close to being that happy except once when she first met Rohan's father. He had brought some of the life back into her and she into him. Many people on the island thought that they would marry, yet sadly, his death prevented their relationship from going further. But it did not matter in the long run. She had never truly loved him. And besides, he had left her Rohan.

"Are you ready for school, Rohan?"

Rohan nodded eagerly. "I..." He began to sway back and forth, his eyes glazing over. Kyara stood up, unsure of what was happening, but know it was serious. She knelt down near Rohan, her hand on his forehead. He was burning with a fever.

"Rohan, can you hear me? Rohan!"

He collapsed into her arms.

* * *

**Author's Note: Dun Dun Dun! Wow, I've never actually said that to the best of my knowledge in a note and it feels weird. **

**Anyways, here is chapter 1! I hope you all enjoy it. Also, if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, because I am basically writing from scratch here, feel free to tell me! It would seriously help me out a lot, so please say something in a review or PM.**

* * *

****Review! Follow! Favorite!****


	3. Chapter 2: The Girl in the Picture

Rex had a mission. It was not a mission that Providence had assigned him or a errand that Six had sent him on. He had his own personal mission. He was going to carry it out if it was the last thing he ever did. He was finally going to have a brother to brother talk with César.

Rex had tried to talk with his brother before about things brothers would talk about, but César never seemed to have the time to talk. He was always working, always busy and usually, if anything, Rex only got him to talk about their parents. Which was totally cool, but Rex always felt as if he was missing something from his brother. It didn't help that Dr. Holiday was pushing him to start living a more normal life now the Cure Event had left him with more spare time.

Rex began to look around the Providence base. He knew his brother had stopped by to gather some equipment before heading out Geneva to work on his new ideas with Meechum and Dr. Rylander who were also here at Providence. Rex checked outside where César's pod was.

"Hello? Big bro?" Rex shoued throughout the small laboratory. It was plain to see that his brother was not there. Rex stepped backwards to leave when he saw César's personal computer open with a photo album on view. Rex checked outside the door, looking left and right, to make sure that no one was nearby. He popped back inside and sat down at the computer.

"Now what do we have here?" Rex smiled devilishly. He looked at the first picture, one of César and his parents receiving some sort of science prize. Rex shook his head and impatiently began to skim through the pictures. He soon began to wonder if the computer held any embarrassing secrets for him to exploit. He sighed, about to give up when a picture of a girl came up with César. She was wearing simply jeans and a deep blue long sleeved shirt with jeans. She was shorter and young, especially standing next to César. Her hair was a coppery red that curled down to her shoulders. Her eyes were warm and brown and carried and essence of home that struck a chord with Rex. He didn't remember the girl, but something about her seemed way too familiar.

César was holding the girl in his arms and... he was smiling. Not that eager science "Eureka!" smile, but a genuinely human smile. Rex checked the clock. A month before the Nanite Event. Not too long ago by César's standards though over six years ago by everyone else's. Rex continued to ski, through the photos of César and the girl. Rec looked back and compared César's smile with the girl to that of César when he was in the lab. They were so different to Rex. In the lab, César seemed more like the brother Rex knew, but when he was wit the girl, he seemed, happier? Human? Rex couldn't think of the word, but he knew that the two Césars were different people.

"You better not let César catch you looking at his stuff," Peter Meechum said was he walked into the lab carrying a box of small electronics. Rex spun around, stuttering an excuse until he saw it was only Meechum. He let out a small sigh of relief.

"It's only you," he breathed.

"I was serious. César doesn't like it when people mess with his stuff. I got yelled at for clumsiness after I tripped on your monkey's banana peel."

Rex laughed at this, earning him a stern look from Meechum. He tried to stop, but he couldn't clear his face of his smile. Peter shook his head and set the box down in the back of the pod. Rex looked back at a picture of the girl then back to Meechum. "Hey, Meechum. Do you know who this is with César?"

Meechum looked at Rex. "Seriously? You don't remember her?I thought you got most of your memories back in the Cure Event."

Rex shook his head. "I got most of the back, but they are still really fuzzy. She's familiar though."

Meechum laughed. "She was practically family to everyone working on the Nanite Project. She didn't understand exactly what we were working on, but she had an incredible instinct for the project. We were all sad that she had chosen to become an elementary teacher instead of a scientist. She was nothing short of brilliant."

"Who was she to César?"

"She was his girlfriend." Rex's mouth dropped. He had wondered if there was anything more between them, but the idea of César having a girlfriend was still a little strange to him. Meechum laughed. "I know, surprising that he of all people found someone who could put up with him so well. We all figured they would end up getting hitched after she graduated college."

"What happened to her?" Rex looked back at the picture of her. If she was so compatible with César, then why wasn't she here and now?

"What else? The Nanite Event. We all knew that the Consortium was going to make a move. They were becoming more and more involved with every step we took. We all knew that something would happen and the outcome was uncertain. César didn't want her to get hurt, so her broke up with her. He did it just in time too. Later that night, the Event happened. She was barely out of the country when it happened."

"Out of the country?"

"César bribed a friend of hers to get her as far away as she could where no one could find her. She must have done her job. César hasn't been able to find her since."

"She's alive?"

"Who knows? Since the Event, no one has heard of her. César tried talking to her family, but well, she never had much of one to begin with. What she had left was the worst combination of scum and slime you have ever seen. It was no surprise to anyone that that was a dead end."

Rex absorbed the information slowly. The only girl that would probably ever end up with César was gone. Now how fair was that? Rex thought more and more about it, only interrupted when Dr. Rylander walked in. In the flesh.

"Dr. Rylander!" Rex exclaimed, confused by the physical body. "You're not in a tube."

"Nope! I'm one hundred percent back! It feels good too. Except for my arthritis is slowly returning, but I can live with that. Now, what are you two talking about?" Rylander said with a grin on his face. The old man was certainly happy to be back.

"Kyara," Meechum said plainly.

"Ah, that young thing! Dang, I miss her snickerdoodles. She made the best snickerdoodles anyone ever had. She was a hit around the lab too," Rylander said, winking at Rex. "We all thought she would just end up being a huge distraction. She never was though. In fact, she often translated and rewrote César's notes so we could actually read them. She learned Spanish that way. Dang, she was a smart kid."

"How did she and César meet?" Now that Rex knew who the girl was, he wanted to know everything, if for nothing other than teasing César later.

"It was about a year before the Event if I'm remembering correctly. César was on the brink of quitting because he didn't feel as if he was getting the attention he deserved. Which in a way, he was right. We all thought he was not as... well, smart as the rest of us because of how young he was. He left the lab one day after a huge fight with your parents. He wanted the respect he deserved, so to say. He ran into Kyara then. I don't the details; you're going to have to ask César. But one thing led to another and they were together."

"And then she never left César alone. She was worse than a puppy following its master," Meechum commented.

"That was true. She was practically always with him. And when she wasn't with him, she was with you, Rex." Rylander sat down in one of the chairs. His eyes were out of focus, remembering some long forgotten time.

"Me?" If she was César's girlfriend, why would she be with him so much?

"She wanted to be a teacher." Rylander continued. "Your parents saw that, saw how much you needed someone there because you always scared off your nannies, and put two and two together. They said that if she could handle you, she was ready to have a classroom."

"Wait, nannies?!" Rex could remember several people in his life, but he remembered no nannies.

"Your parents were top notch scientists. They were busy. Don't worry about not remembering them, though. I don't even remember most of them and they always seemed to end up interrupting out tests by handing in their resignation forms," Meechum continued.

"So she was my babysitter?" Rex wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Yep, pretty much," Rylander summed it up. "She played a game with you using your soccer ball. She had you count up all the circles on the ball and then tell her the answer."

"Soccer balls don't have circles..."

"That was the challenge of it. It drove you insane, trying to figure it out. What did she call it, Circles? The Puzzle of the Ball? Ah, the Game of Circles."

Rex remembered as a series of images flashed through his mind.

_He saw the girl walking down the hallway, trying to find him._

_His hands flew out with a bucket filled with water, soaking the girl._

_She screeched in shock._

_He laughed, about to run off with his soccer ball._

_She took his ball and held it up to him._

_Rex thought he was in trouble, but inside he was smiling. Perhaps now his parents would finally notice him and stop their work and play with him for once._

_"I have a new game."_

_"What?" Rex asked._

_"If you can answer one question for me, I will quit being your sitter. If you can't answer it, then I stay. You have three chances to get it right, okay?"_

_"What the question?"_

_Rex would answer it right, whatever it took._

_"How many circles on this ball?"_

_"None."_

_"Strike One."_

Rex remembered trying to guess the answers. He had well surpassed his three guesses, but after a while, it became about knowing the answer. He had tried every number he could think of. He even wondered if by circles, she meant the hexagons and pentagons which were clearly not circles. But he never guessed it. Until one day when the answer finally came to him. Days before she left.

_"I got it! I got it!"_

_Rex burst into the lab where Kyara was rewriting César's notes._

_Everyone else began to shout._

_Kyara looked up._

_"What do you got, Rex?" his mom asked, a slightly concerned look on her face._

_"I got the answer to Ky's game!"_

_Kyara smiled._

_"I knew you would get it."_

"It's infinity," Rex whispered, interrupting Rylander who was now going off about the good old days. Both Meechum and Rylander looked at Rex who seemed to snap into focus. "The answer to her game. It's infinity."

Rylander smiled. "When you came into the lab, I thought everyone was going to strangle you, myself included. But as Kyara took over, asked you to explain your answer and you told her, well, even Peter smiled."

"I did not." Meechum argued. "I just thought it was a smart way to get the kid to think."

"Your parents were very proud when you explained yourself. After you left with another riddle of hers, they came up to Kyara and hugged her. You were a Salazar, genius by blood, but no one had gotten you to to realize that until then. She understood-"

"What are you old fools talking about?" César came in holding some equipment. He placed it down gently as Rex shutdown the computer with his nanites very quickly. César looked at Rylander and Meechum and Rex with confusion and frustration in his face. Rex smiled.

"Hey bro. We were, uh, just talking about your new project." Rex nodded at the others who nodded back as well. Rylander and Meechum were unsure of Rex's reason for keeping their conversation a secret but understood well enough to at least play innocent for a while. César didn't seem to notice Rex's falter. Instead he began to ramble how proud he was that Rex had taken an interest in his brother's work and invited Rex to join him Geneva. They could even stop by the old house...

Rex smiled and nodded. He had a new mission now. Before, it was to talk about girls with his older brother and have a guy to guy talk. But now, knowing that his bro had someone else, Rex set out with a new mission in mind. He would help find Kyara. For César.

_Kyara. What a pretty name_, Rex thought as he left to tell Six and Dr. Holiday of his new plans.

* * *

**Author's Note: So what do you guys think of my Meechum and Rylander? Are they up to par? Are they exaggerated in some ways or just completely wrong? I love feedback; reviews are amazing ****_hint hint!_**** Anyways, I hoped that this is going better that the first time around. If you have any comments/ideas, please tell me! I love hearing from you guys and becoming a better writer. And next chapter, maybe some CésarxKyara fluff? What do you think, back in the past, or the present? It depends on how fast you want this story to proceed. **

* * *

****Review! Follow! Favorite!****


	4. Chapter 3: The Plan

Kyara paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth through the white halls of the island's local hospital. There was only one doctor for the couple thousand people. Thankfully though for Dr. Kid, the people were smart enough not to try eating the rat poison and leave the hair dryer near the bathtub. Not that the majority of the people had hair dryers. However, Dr. Kid did occasionally receive the child who had jumped off the swings at a park to see if he or she could fly.

She glanced at the clock for the third time in that minute. Dr. Kid was examining Rohan and Kyara was forced to wait outside. She growled at the system that kept her from seeing her little boy, and at herself for respecting the system enough not to barge in and demand to be with her son. Trying not to strangle the next nurse that walked by, Kyara continued pacing.

She grabbed her cell phone from her pocket, another rare luxury for the island, and dialed the school. She should let them know that she would not make it to class today. She should have done it sooner; the students are probably sitting inside deciding on the best taunts to tease her for her tardiness. The school phone rang only once before the secretary, Ms. Jules, picked up.

"Island Elementary, how can I help you?" As usual, her voice was far too jubilant for any sane person and it ringed in Kyara's ears. She winced slightly, but shook off the ringing.

"Melody, it's Kyara. I need a favor."

"What sort of favor, Ms. Maston?" Melody was still a teenager, barely an adult by American standards and certainly a child by the island's standards. Kyara was a child, technically by their standards as she was unmarried, but they overlooked that when she said she was a teacher. Melody had the habit of calling everyone by their title and last name. She made her impression by being as formal as possible, irking Kyara from informal California to no end.

"There was an accident with Rohan-"

"Oh my, is he okay?" Against her formalities, she had obtained a horrible habit of interrupting from her busy mother.

"I don't know yet. Kid is still with him. But that's why I'm calling. I need you to teach the class for me today." Silence was heard from the other side of the phone. Melody's normal chipper attitude had fallen. Kyara waited for a response for a moment, before continuing. "Look, the lesson isn't hard. My notes will be in the top drawer on the right hand side of my desk. We're going over atomic theory for the older kids and long division for the younger ones. You know this, Melody. I believe in you."

"That's really sweet, but I don't know if I can. Atoms never made sense for me, even at secondary school and math was never my thing. I was always a better Language student..."

"Melody, I taught you myself. You were one of my first students. I know you can do this. There are notes in the margins about how to discuss it. It's mostly questions to ask the class then expand off of their ideas. You can do this."

"I don't know..."

"Melody, it's one day. If I can't make it tomorrow, I'll get a real substitute teacher for my absence. Just one day, Melody. You can take today's pay." Kyara threw in as a last resort. She hated bribing others, but she also knew that Melody needed the money as she was trying to save up to leave for a college on the mainland.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. But I need you to teach today's lesson. Okay?"

"Okay..." Melody didn't sound convinced, but Kyara knew that she would do her best in teaching the lesson. Melody was always hardworking and never gave up though she often seemed addlebrained and distracted much of the time.

Dr. Kid came into the waiting room. Kyara said goodbye to Melody and walked up to him. It was time to face the moment of truth. She hoped it wasn't too serious, but she also knew that small children didn't pass out with a dangerously high fever for no reason. She stood on her tip-toes, a habit she had developed years ago trying to impress those around her whom she perceived as her superiors.

"Doctor?" she asked, her voice wavering more than she would have like saying that one word.

"Kyara, has Rohan ever been sick since the Cure Event?" Dr. Kid asked taking Kyara by surprise.

"Since a couple weeks ago? No. He hasn't been sick in a while."

"I was afraid of that."

"What do you mean, you were afraid of that? What's wrong with Rohan?"

"Come with me," he said, leaving the room. Kyara followed hesitantly behind him imagining all the things that went wrong. Rohan had picked up a new deadly strain of influenza. Rohan had been infected with one of the local parasites. This was the worse Kid had ever seen anyone. The doctor had no idea what was wrong with him. He required weeks of treatment. Rohan only had hours to live. She cringed as each idea squirmed its way to the forefront of her mind.

The doctor led her into a room. Rohan lay in the white bed with tubes and machines all around him beeping and making noises. Kyara nearly choked on her broken heart. He had always been a small child, having been born several weeks early. But right now, in his hospital bed, he looked pitifully small. His face was deathly pale. Kyara instantly recognized the look of death on his face. She had visited too many hospitals with dying family members to ignore that look on her son's face.

"What's wrong, Kid?" Plainly and directly.

"He has a cold."

This infuriated Kyara. "You don't die from the common cold! What is it, a new strain like the swine flu?"

"Actually, that's all it is. The common cold. He looks so bad because his body is no longer fighting it."

Kyara's heart stopped. Those words drove into her heart with more force than a stampede of elephants. "Why?"

"Let me explain. Rohan was born after the Nanite Event. He was born with active Nanites inside of him and he grew up that way. He never had to fight off any diseases without them. You see, not all nanites were bad. For the most part, they helped our immune system fight off colds and flus. They couldn't fight off everything, which is why people still went to the hospital for pneumonia. If you paid attention to the news, you remember that after the Cure Event, a lot of people came down with the common cold and flu, basic maladies that now frightened everyone at first, but after the initial scare, they were fine. Our immune systems had become dependent on the nanites to a certain extent."

"So why is Rohan so bad?"

Dr. Kid sighed, his face fallen. "Rohan never had an immune system of his own. His was completely dependent on the nanites. To be honest, I'm surprised he made as long as he did without getting sick sooner."

"What's the treatment?" Kyara, after hearing the news and gravity of the situation, simply wanted a solution.

"There is none. I can try to give him antibodies, inoculate him, but at this point I fear that there is nothing I can do for him. Technically, you aren't legal so the decision to treat him is up to me. But I want you to decide what to do."

Kyara nodded and walked over to Rohan, crushed by the doctor's words as he left the room for her to think about her "options." She brushed aside some of Rohan's soft dark hair. He moved slightly under her touch. His eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, Mom," he barely murmured audibly.

"Hey, son," she smiled. Rohan snuggled deeper into his blankets before closing his eyes once more. Kyara's face grew set. That was the first time Rohan had ever called her mom. It made her soul fly. She knew what she had to do. Though she didn't have a TV set, she had paid enough attention to the news to know that there was someone out there who could help her son. She knew him long ago in another life. She hoped he would remember as she had heard rumors of his amnesia.

She picked up her phone and went to speeddial. She dialed 1. The phone barely even rang.

"Ky, I'm in the middle of something." The female voice from the other side seemed particularly irked. "Can this wait?"

"No, Five, it can't. It's about Rohan."

"One moment." Kyara heard the phone on the other side drop and a series of grunts, groans, and some bones breaking. Kyara didn't doubt that anyone was left alive, let alone standing by the time Five picked up the phone once more. "Back. What's wrong with Rohan?"

Five had brought Kyara to the island long ago. She had placed Kyara with Rohan's father and arranged all the items she needed to to be periodically dropped off. She was the one who had given Kyara the cell phone in case Ky ever needed to reach her.

"He's dying. HIs immune system isn't working because his nanites are deactivated."

"The doctors can't do anything?"

"Would I be calling you if they could?"

Laughter could be heard from the other end of the line. "What do you need?"

"Rex. I need Rex Salazar."


	5. Chapter 4: Dream Girl

_It was almost summer. The sun was shining bright and though it was only in the early morning, it was already warm outside. Most of the people walking around were wearing shorts or skirts with a loose top. It was early April yet already in Abysus, the people were ready to swim at the beach or river ten minutes inland, shop for flip flops and new two piece bathing suits, and have picnics in the park. _

_César watched all of the people wander about in the bliss of ignorance. He knew too much to be as at peace with the world as they were. He knew that the local heat wave of the last two weeks was going to break with a rather large storm. There was an 87% chance that this would happen tomorrow._

_The sound of a horn honking distracted César from his thoughts on the weather. Several cars up ahead on the street were suddenly slowing down to 30-31 miles per hour instead of the usual 40 that the townsfolk usually went to in a 35 mile zone. One car in particular, a Jaguar César thought, was roaring its engine and generally acting impatient. The car was most definitely not designed for a Central Ave. stroll._

_César saw the cars slowing down. He figured the reason why. It was not hard to understand. The Abysus police had recently hired a new man who was convinced that the local population was all thieving scum. César predicted that he would be removed from the force within a month. He was most likely lying in wait for speeding tourists and was the reason everyone had slowed down to such slow velocities._

_The Jaguar eventually got fed up with the slowing cars and speedily passed the cars. The car disappeared from view almost immediately. César smiled as the sound of sirens confirmed his hypothesis. Though obnoxious and unreasonable, the policeman did understand the precision of his job._

_"Hey, César!" A voice came from approximately 3 meters behind him. It was Kyara's._

_César turned, smiling. He pondered as to why he was smiling as he always did when Kyara was around. Despite they had been seeing each other since September, no matter his mood, she could make him smile. He was still unsure why Kyara taken an interest in him. He had no time for a relationship which he thought would turn her away. He had no time for anything other than his work he thought, but somehow they still had time for dates like this. Or rather, a more appropriate term for it would be Kyara forced him to get some fresh air and have an early lunch with her. Perhaps that was the reason he smiled when he saw her. She made him do irrational things. Under normal circumstances, he would have been concerned a out his irrationality. But the results were quite the opposite. He felt happy._

_"Buenas dias, Kyara. ¿Como estas?"_

_"I'm doing well, thanks. Are you ready for the most fantastic lunch of your life?" Kyara answered. They had an unusual way of speaking most often him in Spanish and she in English. They both understood the other, yet they never spoke in the same language. César smiled at the thought. He wondered what Peter Meechum would have said, though he could only imagine it too well._

_"Where are we eating?"_

_"At the park. I made us everything we need, even taking in account your intolerance of lactose." Kyara giggled. She always thought it was weird that César could not drink milk or have any normal dairy products like ice cream which she loved so much._

Her laughter filled in his ears and his eyes fluttered open. César woke up, trying to hold on to the dream that filled him with warmth. But as her laughter faded away from his ears, as his eyes opened fully revealing he was in some corner of his laboratory, he felt a part of him go numb with the memory of Kyara. It had been seven months by his standards since he last saw her, but seven years for her. He wondered if she remembered him as clearly as he remembered her. He wondered if she could ever forgive him for hurting her.

He stood up and walked to the cockpit of the lab. Rex and Meechum were sleeping on the two beds explaining why César woke up in the corner. Rylander was still wide awake though piloting the lab to Geneva. His face was calm, relaxed, as if he had done this his entire life.

"Good morning, César. Or should I say good night? It is almost two in the morning."

César sat down in the extra seat next to Rylander, closing his eyes once more. Kyara was there behind his eyelids, smiling at him, making him wish he had never let her go.

"Kyara?" Rylander asked.

César furrowed his brow. "How...?"

"I might be old, César, but I wasn't blind to how you felt around the girl. You have that same stupid smile on your face as you did all those years ago."

César sighed. "I had a dream about her."

"Oh?"

"I only remember her smiling and laughing. And feeling... happy?"

Rylander laughed, nearly waking Rex and Meechum in the back. "César, you idiot. You were in love with her. And you still are. You never stopped loving her, not even after you broke her heart into a thousand little pieces." César winced hearing those words. He did not like to imagine thinking about the pain he must have caused her. "You hurt her to protect her, to save her. And you did all of that because you loved her. Why do you think you dreamt about her? Because she was just another face that passed you in the streets one day? César, she was the only girl you ever even noticed, let alone dated. Is it really that strange to you that you dream about her? Honestly, if I was ever with a girl like that, I would make sure that I dreamt about her every night-"

"I never told her." César interrupted.

"What?"

"I never told her that I love her." César admitted. And this was why his head spun every time he thought about what he did to her even if it was the best of intentions. This was why he cringed every night he fell asleep wondering what had happened to her. This was why when he looked at himself in the mirror every morning he only saw a computer. He never thought of himself as a feeling human being until Kyara showed up. He always thought of himself as too good for emotions until Kyara made him realize that he needed love like everyone else on the planet.

"Why not?"

"I don't know; I just never did. I suppose I thought I would be able to tell her later. The words never seemed to be able to come out when I wanted them to. I suppose I figured she knew what I was always rambling about."

Rylander was about to say something when a thud from above them sounded through the laboratory. Rex woke up instantly. He had been a light sleeper since Providence. He could still sleep for hours and hours like a normal teenager, but he rarely did anymore. Rex came up to the front, tripping over Meechum who woke with a start, ready to shout at Rex until they heard the second thud from outside, right at the edge of the door.

"What was that?" Rex asked, his voice strained.

As if answering his question, the door from the edge of the pod was ripped off and fell to the ocean below. Rylander and Meechum stared at the damage and César nearly freaked out that his laboratory was being destroyed. Rex, though, brought out his Smack Hands, ready for business. César had to admire his little brother for always being so prepared to deal with unexpected surprises.

César saw a girl come through the door. She was slim, slender, and sported a head full of short bright pink hair. "'Ello, boys."

Her eyes latched onto Rex, sending off warning bells in César's head, then glanced at César. Her eyes widened. "Well, look at what the cat dragged in. César..."

That voice. César knew it from somewhere. Where had he heard that voice before? And her eyes were terribly familiar. He began to search through his memory as far back as he could until he finally remembered. "Carrie?"

She swung her bright pink guitar and everything went dark.

* * *

**Author's Note: Every person loves reviews on their fanfics. In fact, it makes it much easier to work on this one instead of my other fanfiction which is barely getting review after a hiatus, so I recommend you review to make me update faster. *HINT HINT***


	6. Chapter 5: Solution to the Problem

Her body was stiff and unmoving. It did not want to move, yet at the same time, it begged to do anything other than simply sit in the chair the doctor had provided her. It wanted to run, swim, and play, not sit, sleep, and worry. Her eyes fluttered open only to cringe upon seeing the bright white light above her. She stretched her arms, trying to remove the rigidness from inside her muscles. She groaned, her eyes falling upon the familiar form in the familiar hospital bed. The routine of the last two days, sleeping for minutes, stressing for hours, was already getting old.

Kyara stood up slowly, arching her back. She hated what she was seeing, watching the closest thing she had to family slowly waste away from the common cold. She had never taken seriously the danger it could pose despite her biology teacher going into great detail about the outbreak in 1918. She shuddered, remembering the gruesome details.

She pulled out her phone, wondering if anything had happened. There was one missed text message and one missed call. She checked the text first. It was from Carrie.

_I got him._

Kyara felt her heart jump a little. Her feet felt a little lighter. This meant that there was a chance that little Rohan might survive. She nearly danced, but stopped as she saw a nurse passing by in the hallway. She glanced at the missed call. It was from Nanna, the town's grandma and innkeeper. She had taken in Kyara at first until Carrie and Kyara had found more permanent living arrangements. She was also one of the only other people on the island with a phone. Kyara listened to the voicemail.

"Kyara, I don't care what's going on. As soon as you get this message, get your ass over here now. We need to talk about the boy."

Kyara's brow furrowed with confusion. However, no one denied Nanna a visit, especially when asked by the great matriarch herself. As she let a nurse know she was leaving and to take care of her son, she wondered why Nanna would want to talk about Rohan with her. Nanna had been his grandmother in essence as she had been to almost everyone on the island. She had every right to be concerned. Perhaps she was just curious as to how Rohan was doing. She must have heard that he was sick and was now curious as to how sick. This was the conclusion Kyara came with as she left the hospital and made her way down to the inn.

The inn was old, but it had the charm that old buildings often had. It was made of stone which kept the oppression of the heat of summer outside and keeping the rooms cold. During the winter, the hearth in the lobby was was fired up, keeping everyone warm. The inn was not particularly large, only allowing room for the few out of town families to stay while visiting and the few unlucky tourists who imagined the island to be an exotic Mediterranean paradise. As Kyara walked into the spacious lobby with the heart acting as no more than decoration, she prayed that nothing would happen to Rohan while she was gone.

"There you are, girl." A small woman not even five feet tall came out. She wore brightly colored shawls and skirts with many jangling bracelets on her wrists and clinking pearls around her neck. Her hair was pulled back with several beads adding to her look of exoticity. Her eyes were a piercing blue that stared into everyone's soul and her mouth was filled with gold and silver teeth. She looked ferocious upon first glance, but she was as caring as any grandmother and her chocolate chip cookies were ten times better.

"Yes, Nanna. I'm here. What did you want?" Kyara asked, mindful to keep her tone polite and considerate.

"What this?" From within the many layers of her garments, she pulled out a small photo of a man and a woman wrapped in each other's arms smiling as if they were the happiest couple in the world. Kyara recognized it instantly as the photo she slept with every night and the one Rohan had been asking about. It was the same one that held so many painful memories for Kyara. It was the same one that was a constant reminder of the dangers of falling in love. her hand flew up to her neck where she still wore the same necklace.

"Where did you find that?" Her voice wavered and cracked, threatening to give way any moment.

"In your place after you took Rohan to the hospital. Is this him?"

"He's no one."

Nanna smiled. "If he was no one, you wouldn't have kept his picture all this time."

"He's caused me more pain and frustration than I have ever known. I've tried to forget him." Kyara became defiant. She pulled her shoulders back and jutted out her chin.

"Do you still love him?" Nanna always knew who someone was even if no one ever told her anything. She could tell by Kyara's facade that this was someone important to her. She knew that even though Kyara would answer no and deny her feelings, Kyara had never stopped loving the man in the picture. She never would, no matter how much her brain told her heart otherwise. Nanna knew that Kyara would eventually have to face her feelings if she ever wanted to move on. Nanna knew that this man was the reason that Kyara had never married Rohan's father even though they had both known it would have been best for Rohan to grow up with a real mother.

"He left me almost seven years ago. Why would I still love him?"

The response was simple for Nanna. However, she was interrupted by a buzz from Kyara's cell phone and the giant roar from jet engines outside. Kyara looked at the text, smiled, and ran outside, presumably where the noise was coming from. Nanna shook her head and before Kyara ran through the door, Nanna called her name. Kyara turned, obviously not wanting to hear the last convicting words.

"Because you never left him."

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter's a little short and it took me a while to update. I've been working on all my other fanfics which have kind of been hanging for a while. So here we go! Finally, the plot is about to thicken and finally! we have the meeting of Cesar and Kyara. Any predictions as to what will happen next?**


	7. Chapter 6: In the Past

César's eyes fluttered open to darkness, making him doubt if he was awake. However, a draft form the right confirmed to César that it was he was in fact awake. He glanced around, wondering if there was any light in the immediate vicinity. There seemed to be none. At first, he was concerned, especially when the memories of what had happened before he had been hit in the head, but as the sound of shuffling from three others filled his ears, he concluded that he should not be any more worried than usual.

He sat up, careful in case of any concussion that the guitar might have given him. His head hurt enormously, but it was not awful enough to tarnish his line of thinking. He heard a sigh from in front of him that indoubtably belonged to Peter Meechum. César almost smiled at how easily Peter could give himself away.

"Rex?" César called into his darkness. His first priority was his little brother. He would not fail the promise he made his parents so many years ago after Rex had first been born. From the sound of César's own voice bouncing back from the walls, he knew that the room he was in was small, barely an eight by eight room. In honesty, he thought the place would have been bigger as he didn't touch anyone upon waking.

"Here, César," his little brother's voice came from about a foot away, closer than César anticipated, nearly startling him. "What happened?" His brother's voice was foggy as if he woken only seconds before.

"Carrie attacked us," César answered automatically. He was still confused as to why her hair was pink.

"You mean Five?" Rex responded with confusion.

"Her name is Carrie. She was Kyara's roommate." César knew that Carrie was much more than that to Kyara though. She was Kyara's lifeline surviving that first year of college, especially when César or his family couldn't be there for her. She understood Kyara and her life in a way César never knew and probably never could, however frustrating that thought was. César cringed as the last time he had spoken to Carrie was to convince her to take Kyara as far away from Abysus as possible.

"Seriously?" Rex scoffed. "They roomed together? How did Five keep her job a secret from Kyara?"

"She didn't. Carrie didn't take on much jobs during college, but Kyara figured it out the same. She simply asked Carrie to not bring her work home." César chuckled to herself. "That was one of the best things about Kyara. She never asked questions that you didn't want to answer. She simply accepted life for what is was. She was much better at leaving things be, as she said, than me."

"César, you sap. You still love her even after seven years and breaking her heart." Light emerged from César's left, forcing him to turn away and protect his eyes. The voice was feminine, and César knew it well. He managed to glance into the light to see the slight form of Carrie.

"You know why I had to, Carrie."

"Shut up. It's Five now. Carrie died a long time ago." Though she spoke in metaphors, something César often required Kyara's help for understanding sometimes, he got her point well enough. She had changed years ago. With this depth, for the first time, César wondered just how much he had really missed in his five year absence.

"Whoever you are," Meechum spoke up. César tried not to show his disapprovement too visibly. Leave it to Meechum to screw everything up as César knew he would. "Why did you take us? Surely we don't have any real value to you."

Five snickered and César could only imagine what was going through her brain at Meechum's foolishness. "Are you suggesting I kill you now? Because I am more than alright with that?"

Meechum shook his head, looking towards the floor.

"I'm here for Rex. You and the old man are here just in case. And César's here because I'm sure Kyara would love to give him a piece of her mind."

César cringed at the words, but after a second's thought, he realized what Five was talking about. "We're going to see Kyara? She's alive?"

Five glared at him. "Granted, she's not quite as daring as she used to be, but I supposed that's because she has her son to think about now."

"Son?" The word echoed in César's ears and sounded horribly foreign and wrong in context with Kyara. He had never seen Kyara having any children. At least, none that weren't his. César would admit that he had imagined what their children would like if they had any. He had always imagined that he and she would be like his own parents, traveling across the world with one, maybe two children if they wanted it. He had imagined that their children would have been brilliant like him, but beautiful like Kyara. The thought of Kyara having another man's son was horrifying to César. He had wondered if she would end up with someone else, but he had never dared that she would bear his offspring.

Five smiled devilishly. "You bet. His name is Rohan. He's the reason I'm here actually. He's dying and needs Rex to reactivate his nanites."

"Activate his nanites? Why?" Rex sounded horrified that he would have to do such a thing.

"His immune system became dependent on them as he was born after the Event. He never knew what it was like to live without them. Now he's sick and needs them back. If you want specifics, ask Kyara. I was just told to bring you to her."

"You're doing this for free?" Rex asked.

"There are more ways to be paid than just money. Seeing Rohan alive and well again is good enough. Kyara will owe me quite a few girl's nights after this and probably a new car, but again, for Rohan, we would do anything."

Rex opened his mouth to ask something when Five shooshed him. She took out a cell phone, quickly texted something before looking back up at them. "We're about to land. I suggest you look as presentable as possible and try to look a little remorseful, César. With all the stress and how you two left off last time, I don't think she'll be too happy to see you."

Five left leaving the door open. César stood up, beginning to pace frantically. He was about to see Kyara again after so long. He had never dared to think about this after he had reached the last dead end relating to his love. He began to think of everything he would say, explaining why he had done what he had done. Rylander, who had been sitting quietly the entire time except for when he was called old, stood up and placed a hand on César's shoulder.

"If Kyara loved you like we all thought she would, then don't worry. She will understand."

César smiled at the old man. He always knew what to say, what to do, and had helped César figure out Kyara more than once. "Gracias, old friend."

Rex stood up as well, stretching out. "Don't worry, bro. My memories are clearing up and I know that she wouldn't ever stop caring about you."

César smiled at his brother and grabbed his for a tight embrace. "Gracias, hermano," César whispered in his ear quietly as Rex returned the hug. The two released one another after the jet they must have been on touched ground, shaking them apart. Everyone nearly fell down, except for Meechum who had been sitting wisely. César walked out of the door where Five was waiting for him. This was definitely not his lab, with everything being a smooth black surface, but he saw where the bay door would open. He faced there as the door opened. Here was his moment of truth.

Five walked out with Rex following behind him. Meechum and Rylander took the opportunity to get out and stretch their limbs. Rylander unabashedly came up to a very surprised Kyara and hugged her tightly. She returned it, as Meechum gave a casual smile.

César stood there for a moment longer until her eyes finally reached his. Instantly, her face of joy and confusion became unreadable. César smiled and began to walk towards her, emboldened by his friends' reminders. She stood still, not approaching César until he was a few steps away when she took a step backwards. "Kyara-"

Kyara came up towards him and punched him in the face with more force than César would ever have thought possible. He fell down instantly, dazed by what had just happened. he glanced up to see Kyara glaring at him.

"What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead! Everyone was supposed to have died!" she screamed.

"I-"

"Even if you somehow survived like everyone else seemed to, why are you here now? You're the one who left! You're the one who decided I was no longer worth it! Why now?"

"Kyara-"

"No, César! You have no excuses! It's been seven years! Now you think you can just walk back into my life like nothing happened and expect everything to be fine between us? You really expect me to forgive you for everything you put me through? How can you expect me to love you, César?"

Her words cut through César's heart sharper than any blade. He watched helplessly as the only woman he had ever loved walked away from him with tears in her eyes. She ignored the arm of her best friend and kept walking. She didn't glance at Rex, at Five, at least of all, not at him. She kept walking away towards the building in the distance which César could barely make out the word "hospital" on its side. He watched as Kyara walked. As he watched, he felt his eyes burning.

The realization of what he had done to Kyara and what he had truly put her through hit him. He realized that everything that had happened in the past was just that. In the past. All the times he kissed her, said "I love you," no longer mattered. It no longer mattered that he had held her tightly when she had ran to his house in the middle of the night because of her neverending nightmares. That was the worst part for César.

_It didn't matter anymore._

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me a while to update! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It practically killed me to write this and their reunion. Anyways, tears and feels aside, what do you guys think? What do you think what will happen next, because after the next chapter or two, things completely diverge from what was originally in the story.**

**Review please?**


	8. Chapter 7: A Talk About Love

César could not comprehend what he was feeling. That was the worst part. He had always known what he was dealing with before; he had never encountered something that was foreign to him except for that incident with the parallel universe last year. He had always understood. Now, he hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on.

Kyara hated him. César fell down on his knees with this realization. The only woman he had ever loved, ever would loved, and if he was honest, would ever love him, turned her back on him. The weight of César's actions came crashing down upon him. He had done this do Kyara. he had made her hate him. But why? He was only protecting her. That was always what drove him. To protect her from anything that the world threw at her. When her drunk uncle came driving up to the lab one day, trying to take her back to her abandoned mother, César had tackled him, only because of the fear he saw in Kyara's eyes. For no other reason. The man had been twice César's size and he dislocated César's arm, but César never thought anything about it. He had done what he did to protect her.

So why was it so different this time?

"You are the boy in the picture," an old woman dressed in gaudy, bright clothes and jangling jewelry came up to him with a slight look of awe on her face. She had sent Rex to the hospital a moment ago, because despite of the welcome, Kyara still needed his help. Meechum had complained about the heat before walking inside. Rylander and the woman had flirted more than César thought was normal, but then again, he seemed to understand nothing at the moment so perhaps it was normal.

"What picture?" César asked, still on his knees.

The woman handed him a picture of him and Kyara a few months after they first got together. César smiled at how happy they looked back then and how innocent they were. It was so much simpler back then when all he had to worry about was if Kyara would enjoy this bouquet of flowers or another. He never knew why she enjoyed daffodils so much, but he soon knew that a single daffodil was better than a dozen roses.

César wished he could go back to that time when he could show her everything. When he was her senior, when he knew the answers to everything she was so curious back then. Was she still that curious? He had done the math and now instead of five and half years her senior, he was now only a couple months older. Had she changed much during those five years he was gone? That broke César, the thought of her changing so radically that she was no longer someone that could ever love him.

"I never stopped loving her."

The woman smiled. "She never stopped loving you." This captured César's attention. "Even though she might seem less than reconciliatory right now, she never stopped loving you."

"How can you be certain?" César hated asking those words, but the skeptical scientist inside him forced the question aloud. If Kyara didn't love him anymore, how could anything be certain?

"When she first came to the island, she lived with me. She became very close friends with a man who was going through a rather messy divorce. It was obvious to everyone that the man loved her. A few even suggested she was the reason for the divorce, though the town loves to gossip. If any of those rumheads thought hard enough, they'd have remembered that the divorce started before she even came to the island. However, all rumors had a grain of truth in them. The man loved her. She loved him. But she refused to marry him. He asked her many times, but each time she said no. No one understood why, and I doubt that Kyara even knew the real reason why she said the same thing every time. But I knew. She loved another man even more. I never knew who though until I found this picture of you. Then it made so much sense."

"Who was man?" César asked. Though he was slowing coming to the realization that he had right to ask after so much time, he still needed to know who he was up against. He had to win Kyara back. He had to earn her heart.

"Rohan's father."

The words broke through César rather harshly. He collapsed onto all fours, his stomach twisting and wrenching itself into one giant knot. He felt sick as he remembered that Kyara had a son. However, the fact that she had given birth to a son without marrying the man was not like Kyara at all.

_He was walking her back to her dorm room. Kyara had mentioned that Carrie was partying that night and would not return back home until the early hours of the morning if at all. Carrie was very much the typical college student and every Friday, such as tonight, was a mandatory celebration of the weekend according to her. César hand one hand resting in the small of Kyara's back and the other in his pocket where a small package lay. His hands were getting sweaty at the thought of what he planned for the night. He swallowed, hoping some of the pressure and anxiety would go away as well._

_They reached her door and Kyara turned back to him and smiled. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him. It was gentle and loving like Kyara. It was not desperate or hungry, begging for more. It was sweet. She walked through the door. It was the end of their dinner, but he had suggested going back to her place for a quiet place to talk. It was simpler that way than speaking over the din of the restaurant. It had become their routine within the last month, talking after dinner while on a walk or in a room. So as César followed her inside, he felt his stomach drop. His mind began to think of every possible solution that could go wrong. Which with his mind and especially with his luck, was a lot._

_"Do you want any water, hot chocolate, tea, coffee?" she began to list off anything drinkable while heading into the small kitchenette which barely had a microwave and minifridge._

_"Estoy bien, gracias." Several of the scenarios running through his head involved liquids. She turned around and smiled at him as she began to make her own cup of chai tea, the only drink she would even think of consuming, especially on a cold March night such as this. César decided that he had to do it now. Before he lost the courage._

_He walked over to her and cupped her face. He kissed her soft lips lightly at first, but then stronger and stronger. Kyara was surprised, but she melted into the kisses, her resistance and guard slipping away. His hands slowly fell down from her face, to her neck, to her shoulders, to her back, to her waist. Her hands rested on his chest, not wanting to stop. His lips stopped kissing her then moved on to her ears, her skin cold against his hot breath. She sighed, rolling her head backwards. Almost unaware of his actions by this point, his hands traveled from the back of her waist to the front of her waist._

_Instantly, the kissing stopped. Kyara pressed him away with her hands, and backed away. César glanced into her eyes and saw fear. He stepped back away immediately, wondering what he had done that had caused her to be frightened. Was she scared of him?_

_"César, I- I can't. If...if this is going where I think it's going... I- can't." Her voice came out shaky and there was no mistaking the fear in her voice. She was terrified. Her words were broken and her body began to shake. She looked down at her hands which were shaking particularly badly. She walked out of the kitchen away from him, where she collapsed onto her bed. Her head sat in between her knees and he could tell she trying to fight back something as he breathing accelerated to an almost unhealthy pace. She was hyperventilating._

_"Kyara..." He walked over to her and not for the first time noticed the pale silver lines along the inside of her upper arms. She had never told him what had caused those scars, no matter how hard he pressed her for the truth. He only knew that they weren't recent, which Kyara confirmed. He still worried about her, but he never pried beyond what Kyara could handle. He sat down next to her, but far enough to make sure he didn't overstep any boundaries. "I would never do anything you didn't want. If you're not ready, then you're not ready. I made a mistake."_

_"Is that what I am?" she whispered. "A mistake?"_

_"You could never be a mistake, mi amor. You're too perfect for that. I thought that we were ready. I'm wrong about that. I'm sorry-"_

_"No, César. It's more than that. I won't be ready. Ever. Not until I'm married." The words came out a little stronger. Kyara looked at César directly in the eyes. Gathering her courage, she continued, "My mom was a prostitute. I don't know if she became one before or after my dad, but I do know that after my dad left us, her work came home. She always sold her love to other men, and occasionally women. Every night, one of her '_lovers_,'" Kyara spat, "would be in her room loving her like no tomorrow. I was always locked in my room at night, forbidden to leave while she worked._

_"I had nightmares every night after my dad left. And I couldn't even go to her because she was working. I was stuck in my room, forced to be a good girl so she could pay our bills the next morning. Every night, I was trapped, without anyone or anywhere to turn because she couldn't find any other job. I lived like that for twelve years before I ran away and became my own person. For twelve years, I had to listen to her foreplay, her work, her love, while I was helpless to do anything other than listen to it. And that was all sex was to her. Another way to make money._

_"I can't be like her, César." Kyara looked away, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "I can't have love being anything other important in my life. I can't give my love to just anyone. It has to be to the man whom I spend the rest of my life with. I'm sorry if you hate me for it. I'm sorry if you don't want to be with me anymore because of it, but this is the choice I made long ago. I'm going to stand by it no matter what."_

_César smiled at her. He took her hand and kissed it softly as she always kissed him. "That's okay. I thought we were ready and I thought you expected it from me. But if you want to wait, then I'll wait. I will always wait for you, Kyara."_

"Why did she say no?" he asked. That was the one question that bothered him. Even if Kyara's views had changed since he left, she would have said yes if she really bore the man's child.

"Because she loved you, idiot," the woman said.

"Where's the man now?"

"He died last year from a rare form of cancer."

"What do I do now?"

"Go to her. She has never had the chance to deal with her feelings and now that she has, I think you'll find her a little more happy to see you. Go, my boy. Never let her go. Never stop loving her."

Encouraged by her words, César left. He followed Kyara. Now that he had her back, he would never let her go. He would never stop loving Kyara. He couldn't stop. He had chosen her to be his wife long ago, and he intended to make it happen. He had a chance, now he would take it. He was done with being patient. He would make her his. Nothing would stop him. Only Kyara mattered.

* * *

**Author's Notes: So what are your thoughts so far?**


	9. Chapter 8: Life and Death

Kyara stormed through the hospital, tears running down her face, as confusion swamped over her. Why was César here? He was supposed to be dead. Kyara never forgot how shortly after she first came to the island, the Event happened. It was terrifying to learn of the nanite cloud enveloping the planet and infecting the earth. However, even with the breakup in the front of her mind, learning that none of the original scientists had survived except Meechum, had devastated her. Perhaps it was because the breakup was so fresh in her mind, that it hadn't clicked how César had hurt her. Perhaps it was because she still hoped that he would come back and find her, apologizing profusely and begging to take her back.

She had mourned his death as much as any other loved one. She had read his name among the dead in the explosion. She remembered reading how no bodies could be found or expected to be found because the incident would have eradicated any physical presence.

After she came to terms with César's death, she came to terms with their breakup. She realized that it didn't matter if she mourned or not, because she didn't matter to César anymore. She was nothing to him. It was shortly after that that Rohan's father had approached her about living with him.

_Two years had passed since the Event. Kyara was still angry at everything that had happened, but only Kyle had the ability to calm her down. She had found a certainty, a constant in her life that she hadn't ever had before. Even César had not offered her this comfort since months before their breakup._

_A knock at the door sounded throughout the small house. She was trying to make dinner for Kyle with the scarce variety of ingredients in his home. She growled to herself at the interruption, but left the the stove burning, and picked up Rohan who was crying in the corner. Placing him on her him, she cooed softly before opening the door._

_Van Kleiss was standing there._

_He looked different, older and more worn out. Besides this, the only obvious difference was the gold machine on his left arm. His clothes were the same and the same hunger that had always made Kyara nervous was still in his eyes. Those eyes still made Kyara nervous, especially when they latched onto Rohan greedily._

_"Ah, Kyara Maston. It's a pleasure to see you once more."_

_"What do you want?"_

_"My, my, what a handsome boy. He looks like he's only like he's a year and half. Kyara, is this what you were hiding from all of us before the Event? Is he really César's child?"_

_Kyara gasped at the mention of César. It had been many months since that name had been spoken. Anger boiled up inside Kyara, but she had nowhere to release it._

_"I see that it is. Congrats. Too bad César didn't survive to see his son."_

_Kyara had had enough. "Get out, Van Kleiss. I don't care why you're here. Just get out!" She shouted, slamming the door in his face. She collapsed against the door, determined not to let anything inside. Rohan started to cry in her arms from her outburst. She sung softly a lullaby from her early years though she could never remember where it came from. Before her breathing had even calmed, the small boy was fast asleep in her arms. She waited for Van Kleiss to knock down the door, to try to continue their "conversation," but nothing came. It wasn't until Kyle came home from work did her mind stop thinking about the strange encounter._

Kyara walked into Rohan's room and watched her son sleeping. She was unsure why Van Kleiss thought that he was César's son. Sure, Rohan was small for his age, but he wasn't that small. She always got defensive over Rohan's size, especially when the tourists criticized her for not giving him enough to eat. The charity at times could sometimes be unbearable.

Footsteps echoed from behind her as the person entered the room. She didn't even turn, but she still knew those footsteps well, even though they were older and heavier. Though he was older now, almost a young man, she would always remember the little boy she played games with to teach him his lessons. If she was honest with herself, she had missed him. Even her issues with César could not taint the relationship she had with the boy.

"Hey, Rex," she whispered as she walked over to stand by Rohan's beside. She stroked his hair away from his forehead gently. He was the only reason she had left to live. She hoped Rex could do what she needed him to do.

"Kyara." His tone was formal and awkward. She could tell he was put off by her rage at César.

"Please help him," she begged. "I don't know if you remember me - you didn't last time - but I can't lose Rohan. He is the only thing I have left in this world."

Without even saying a word, Rex walked up to the little boy in the bed. He was small for his size, and whatever reason he was in the hospital had taken a serious toll on his body. Already, his face had gone beyond pale, his eyes were sunken. Rex, though he admitted he was unsure of why he had to activate the same nanites he had deactivated only weeks before. It was rather annoying, but seeing the boy, Rohan, he knew he had to do something.

Rex laid his hands on the boy's tiny chest and closed his eyes. Instantly, he felt the the deactivated nanites throughout Rohan's body. Though off, they held a certain power, as if begging to be turned back on. Taking a deep breath, Rex did the last thing he had ever imagined himself doing in a thousand years after the Cure Event. He felt his nanites tingling with the others following suit. Rex opened his eyes.

The boy glanced up at Kyara. A weak smile spread across his face. "Ky, you're here."

Kyara laughed as tears streamed down her face. She clutched Rohan to her chest, beaming with joy. Rohan pushed away from her, confused by the attention. Kyara pulled back, smiling. She glanced over at Rex. She stood up and embraced him tightly, whispering under her breath, "Thank you."

Kyara could not describe the gratitude and joy she was feeling in her heart. Her soul was leaping with happiness as her son had come back to her. He was no longer on Death's door waiting to enter into his home. He was back. All thanks to Rex.

"You're Rex!" Rohan gasped as soon as he saw Rex standing there. "You saved me!"

"Yeah, kid. Thanks to your mom."

Rohan smiled. "Yeah, she's cool. But you're Rex! You cure EVOs. You saved the planet! How cool is that?"

Rex smiled, enjoying the attention he was getting. "You can tag along sometime if you want."

"Really?"

"When you're older, Rohan," Kyara pitched in quickly. She had just gotten her son back. She was not going to let him throw his life away just yet.

"Aw..." Rohan grumbled as he slid back down into his bed. Though he had not changed physically - he still looked as if he was on the verge of dying - there was now a certain light in his eyes that had previously been lacking. Rex smiled as the kid started to fire questions at him, like what was it like to save the planet. He answered every one patiently. Kyara only interrupted after Rohan started asking if Rex had girlfirend and what it was like to kiss her.

Rex glanced at Kyara. She was different from the person he met ages ago. Instead of the girl whom he had started to think of as an older sister, he saw a gentle mother. Instead of César's girlfriend, she was a young woman with endless love for those she cared about. Even though her life had been difficult, Rex still saw the same soul inside her.

"I don't believe it." A voice came from behind. Rex turned and saw a tall man with unruly blonde hair, but deeply tanned skin. His eyes were a piercing blue. However, despite the labcoat saying he was a doctor, something inside of Rex clamored that he couldn't be trusted. "He was right."

"Dr. Kid, what are you talking about?" Kyara asked, her smile becoming confused.

"He said that it would work," Dr. Kid muttered. "I didn't believe him. It should have been impossible. But he was right."

Kyara's face twisted into concern. She stood up, and in front of Rohan protectively. Rex did the same. Something was definitely off. Kyara's voice, filled with worry, asked, "Dr. Kid, who was right?"

He said is so softly the first time, that no one heard him. Kyara asked him to speak up. When he finally said the name, Kyara gasped and Rex confirmed that this man could not be trusted. The name chilled the room. Shivers of fear went through the spines of everyone as the name was uttered. Rex had hoped, no, begged to any and every higher power that he had been gone for good. That he had ended up in the fiery pits of hell and that he would never show his face again. Some might have called it wishful thinking. To Rex and Kyara, it was their deepest desperate desire.

"Van Kleiss."

Dr. Kid glanced at Kyara, a wave of sorrow passing through him briefly. But he had to do what he had to do. It was the entire reason for giving Rohan the virus in the first place. He reached inside his white coat and pulled out a pistol. "Kyara, I'm so sorry."

He pulled the trigger.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update. Sorry for the ending. It wasn't supposed to end like that. Well, kind of, but not quite. Anyways, you guys should review and encourage me to update more frequently. A huge thanks to Guest reviewer Sparky. You're reviews have made me super duper happy! If you want, I'll write a GenRex one-shot for you!**

**This is now your motivation to review. Whoever reviews on this chapter, and this chapter only, gets a GenRex one-shot. But you have to actually say something about the fanfic. And unless you are a guest, don't tell me the one-shot you want. I'll PM you asking about. However, if you're a guest, then just give me a topic/basic outline. BUT REMEMBER! You must say something about the chapter. And none of this "Great chapter," business. The review must be a little more than that.**


End file.
